The "Granny Aisle"

Those who have been following my journal for a while may have noticed a certain fondness, if not an unhealthy obsession for the armies of grannies that populate the streets and alleys of Dún Laoghaire.

Wherever their daily quests might take them, there is one point where you are guaranteed to observe their feeding habits: the aisle where the yellow sticker products are dumped, the shelf with the items that have reached their Sell-by date (how metaphorical...), the Reduced to Clear shrine, the ultimate granny watering hole.

They usually hunt in packs and prevent easy access to the Mighty Shelf by any undesirables and other budget-conscious younger persons.

Each item is then studied, poked, pressed, weighed, examined, caressed, squeezed, probed, sniffed or sometimes licked. Its fate is then carefully decided and it will finally be safely deposited in the shopping basket or tossed back onto the Mighty Shelf.

Today's Alpha-Granny with the diamond-encrusted blue hat was actually studying each item with a magnifying glass (not a word of a lie), casting fierce sideway glances to make sure that no one else tried to approach her treasures.